This set of five titles from the British phase of Alfred Hitchcock's early career serves as an outstanding reflection on the great director's evolving preoccupations and pet themes in the 1930s. The earliest inclusion is ... more &raquothe 1930 Murder, starring Herbert Marshall as a famous stage actor who takes it upon himself to investigate a murder for which a young actress has been wrongly convicted. Clever and witty, the film finds Hitch exploring the blurry dualisms of reality and illusion, guilt and innocence, and watching and doing. The 1932 Number 17 is Hitchcock in a particularly playful vein. A bit bored by the "old dark house" Gothic tone of the story, he uses the film as an opportunity to push the limits of camera mobility, the emotional underpinnings of shots, and the sheer fun of using model trains and other vehicles to create climactic chases. In the 1934 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much, the director matches a sophisticated tone with a gut-wrenching tale of a child kidnapped by spies. A fascinating study in contrast with Hitch's 1956 edition of the story (the one starring James Stewart and Doris Day), this film highlights both his interest in the burden of secrecy as well as his youthful efforts at visual experimentation. The 1936 Sabotage is a stunning story of a naive woman's revenge-killing of her husband, a German spy, and the subsequent cover-up of her deed both by fate and by a police detective who chooses to keep quiet about her guilt. Finally, the 1936 Secret Agent, starring John Gielgud, Robert Young, Madeleine Carroll, and Peter Lorre in an espionage story of concealed identities and assassination, is dense with ideas about lies and the brutality of the hidden. A few features later, Alfred Hitchcock belonged to Hollywood, and the American cinema took a giant leap forward. But in this boxed set can be seen the blueprint of his genius. The prints of the films used in this set are serviceable and probably comparable to average 16mm classroom or museum presentations. The DVDs also include Hitchcock filmographies, trivia questions, a director biography, and scene access. --Tom Keogh&laquo less

Movie Reviews

More Madacy Entertainment trash...

Joseph Cossette | Fort Lauderdale, FL USA | 12/07/1999

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Madacy appears to have quite a history of producing low quality transfers from film to DVD. All one needs to do is look at other Amazon reviews (look at some of the Charlie Chaplin DVD reviews). I was extemely disappointed with this DVD set and wished I could get back my money. It was a complete waste of money. We're lucky that Amazon has the ability to review these so others don't waste their hard-earned money also. Also fortunate that Amazon has technical info so we can see who has produced the DVD's."

DON'T ORDER THIS TERRIBLE PACKAGE OF GREAT MOVIES!

B. Beker | Boulder, CO USA | 11/05/1999

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Having seen all these superb Hitchcock films before, I was expecting to enjoy the wonder of DVD viewing to enhance the next times around. No go -- owing to poor encoding problems and horrible packaging from the producers (resulting in ALL of the discs coming off their spindles and perhaps being the culprit behing tiny surface scratches), only one of the pictures was even viewable. A gigantic waste of money. Go ahead and order if you must, but be prepared for the hassle of sending it right back to Amazon."

Madacy - worst DVD producer ever

R. Kohary | Bothell, WA USA | 02/19/2000

(1 out of 5 stars)

"The editorial review from Amazon.com states, "The prints of the films used in this box set are serviceable and probably comparable to average 16mm classroom or museum presentations." All I can think is that Mr. Keogh is lying or didn't actually watch the discs. The transfers are among the worst ever on DVD, which is typical of all Madacy titles. The films on the discs are unfortunately great - too bad they're unwatchable. Avoid this collection like the plague, and wait for re-releases from reputable distributors."

Yes, but ....

Thomas J Wilson | 03/28/2000

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I love Hitchcock, but .... The big disappointment in this set is that all of the movies look like they were copied from old videotapes -- they're out of focus and have an amazing number of dropouts, flashes, and flickers. Save your money. Tape them from late night cable."

Bad sound quality and video

Mike Lynch | USA | 12/31/1999

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This set is all in the packaging. The sounds quality is poor, the images have not been enhanced. Not worth buying."